Trap nest



May 26, 1925. 1,539,000

- A. N. PETERS TRAP NEST /fzf 4 INVENTOR l/be/"f f1( Pea/:5.

Mmmm

ATTORNEY Patented May 26, 1925.

Tannat PATENT OFFICE,y

ALBERT l\TE`\'.lO1\Ty PETERS, OF CRANE, MISSOURI.

TRAP NEST.

Application filed January 8, 1924.` Serial No. 685,027.

To f/,ZZ whom tana/y concern.'

Be it known that l, ALBERT ,NPEaERa a citizen of the United States,residing at Crane, in the county of Stone and State 'of Missouri, haveinvented a new and Improved Trap Nest, of which the following is aspeciiication.

The invention resides in the provision of a. trap nest of a very simpleand inexpensive structure, which is readily convertible into an opennest at the Will of the user andivithout the necessity of makingcomplicated adn f justments and alterations of structure; and

in which the parts are so constructed and cooperatively arranged that,when the invention is being used as a trap nest, the hens are positivelytrapped, afterthey have been given an opportunity to inspect a portionof said nest, and in a manner positively preventingl a backing out ofthe hen, or the occupancy of the nest by more than one hen.

Trap nests are used by poultry men as an efficiency medium designed as ameans by the use of which records may be' kept Which Will enable themtoobserve which henfsor class of hens are laying the most, that breedersmay be selected for heavy egg production; also toascertain the amount ofprofit they aord above the cost of their keep, thereby making` itpossible for them to cull out those of the hens which are not` layingenough to pay for their keep, or in other words, those Which are beingfed at a loss.`

The, general poultry man does not use trap nests extensively because asthey are now commonly constructed they are not only complex, expensiveand hard to `build and operate practically, but are also usuallypractical for `use as a trap nest only and not readily convertible intoan open nest for ordinary use.

lt is almost necessary that a trap nest, to be practical, must beconvertible because the general user has'not time. to attend to the.non-convertible trap nest` inthe manner in which' they` should beattended, but often experiences days on whichv he Will not be able togive the same his'attention. At

such times it would be very convenient ifl he was able to convert thetrap nest into `a common open nest until he should again desire torecouvert the saine, thus occasioning full use of the singlenestwvithout hindering the hens using the same and with a loss of recordfor that period only during which the nest was converted.

I am aware that efforts have been made to supply the need of poultry menas above y referred to, but in such embodiments of the broad idea of aconvertible trapnest more or less complicated mechanisms are employedwhich make such contraptions `impractical for use generally,`due to thecorn4 parisonbetween the cost therefor andthe amount of use obtainabletherefrom.

It is therefore the `primary object of this invention to provide a' verysimple, inexpensive, and practical convertible "trap nest, capable ofbeing operated as a trapk nest one day and as 'an open nest the-v next,Without alteration,change of parts, or any inconvenience to the operatoror hens using the same, and which is -so. constructed as to laccomplishits purpose without the use vof pivoty levers, trip Walks, springtrigger devices, balanced slides, or

any of the other. complicated mechanisms i usually used in nests of thistype.

More practically the invention seeks' to provide a nest of the typestated which includes an entrance end, Tvith vwhich are associated ythetrapping devices, a vnest portion, and a front clear portion; Iwhich`said trapping devices are so constructed and arranged as to beadjustable to various ranges of operation, including a locked or opennest position, andvnotsubject to being clogged against perfect function,and which, While associated' With the entrance end of the trap haveportions thereof sol coopera-A tive With the trap portion of the nest asto be engaged bythe hen as she starts toY enter fthat nest portion,after' having inspected the clear portion, and 1n a manner for releasning the' devices to enable them to adjust 'themselves to 'the trappingposition, the engagement between these devices and' the hen being suchas Will prevent any attempted backing out before the trapping functionis completed and which acts to'force the hen directly into and upon saidnest portion.y

Vith the above and other objects inview the invention further resides inthose novelv details of construction, combination and arrangementofparts, all ofWhich Will be first- `fully described, then be particularlypointed out in the appended claims, reference be# ine: had to theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention ready for use.

Figure 2 is a central vertical longitudinal. section of the invention.

Figure 3 is a cross section taken across the nest compartmentjust'beyond the division board and looking toward the entrance end.

Figure L1 is a fragmentary view similar to the left end portion ofFigure 2 and diagrammatically illustrates various adjusted positions ofthe trap door.

In the practical development ot' my invention, I have constructed thesaine to include a bottom 1 to the corners ot which are securedvertically positioned rect-angular shaped corner posts 2, to the topends of the rear pair of which is secured a cross bar 3 and to the topends of the front pair of which is secured a top cross bar 4. Slats 5are nailed to the outer faces of the uprights 2 to provide opposingsides and similar slats 6 are nailed across the rear pair ot uprights 2to comprise an end wall, while similar slats '7 are nailed across thetop faces of the front and rear cross bars 3 and 4. `to providea top, itbeing observed that all of' these slats 5, 6 and7 are spaced apart toprovide a slatted box, the purpose ot' which will later appear.

A, front board 8 is secured across the bottom portions of the uprights 2and a short vertical slat 9 is secured to each of the front posts 2 toextend from the said board S t0 a point Hush with the tops of the slats7 and these slats 9 are oi' such width that they extend over the ends ofthe side slats 5 to be flush vwith the outer faces thereof andslightly.inwardbeyond the uprights 2 so as to cooperate wth the crossbar et and the board 8 in providing an entrance `doorway 10 throughwhich the hens may readily enter the nest, as later described. It willbe observed that all of the slats 5, 6, 7 and 9 are of the same widthotmaterial, such as laths, thus making it possible to construct all ot'these parts by the mere cutting ot' the lengths thereof of the samestock material.

A trap door 11 is hingeldly suspended from the front top cross barAthrough the medium of the double screw eye pivots 12, the dimensionsand manner of hanging of this door being such that the same, when in thetrapping position, will hang vertically, with its lowermost edgeabutting the top portion oit the inside tace of the cross board 8, sceldotted lines in Figure 2.

One o1 the Vparticular features of the invention resides in theseparation of the coinplete nest structure into the portions, that is,

a front clear portion and a rear nest portion. Thisis accomplished byproviding a cross division board 13 positioned uprightly across thebottom 1, as shown in Figures 1. and 2, and whichserves to separate thecon iplete nest into the front compartment 1t, in

which plenty of room is provided for the he-n toenter and make aninspectio-n of the trap without effecting a release of the trap devices,and the nest portion proper designated 15, which may be made up into asuitable hens nest by providing suitable soft material, such as straw orexcelsior, as is indicated in the said figures, the division board 13cooperating with the slats 5 and 6 in confiningthis material to form thenest.

I provide a trigger prop supporting block 16 which is secured .to thebottom against one of the front uprights or posts 2, and a trigger prop17 is provided which is preferably constructed of the same material ofwhich the various slats are formed and which is adapted to be used as atrigger prop for supporting the trap door 11` in the manner illustratedin lall ot' the figures ot' the drawings, particularly Figure 4. It willbe observed from Figure 4lthat with this trigger prop 17, in cooperationwith the facilities for positioning the same, which I have provided, itis possible to vary the set position of the trap door 11 through quite arange, it being possible to set this door `at any range, with itsinwardly extended edge at a point about four inches distant from theboard 13 and in cooperative .relation therewith, to the positionillustrated in full lines in the said Figure il, which .illustrates thelocking of the trapy door to the open position, thus adapting the sameto use as an ordinary open nest. This adj ustmcnt is made possible bythe use of the trigger prop which it will be observed is not connectedin any way to the trap but 1n ay be varied in position, as illustratedat B, D, F, these letters indicating pivot points at which this prop maybe set, the one B being at a point upon the block 1G and against theadjacent corner post 2, the one F being against the boaril 8 and theadjacent corner post 2 and the one D indicating a point against thatonel of the corner posts 2 opposite the side t0 which tbe block 16 issecured. It will be obvious from the said figure that when the prop ispositioned as at B the range of adjustment there possible in proppingthe door will be on the arc A; when positioned at D the adjustment willbe on the arc C; and when positioned as at F the adjustment will be. onthe arc E. It will be apparent from this figure that the range ofadjustment or set of the, door 1l. is very wide, making :it possible toVadjust the trap door for perfectly cooperating with the division board13 and with the particular type of hen which the poultry mancontemplates trapping.

In Figures 1 and 2, in full lines, is illustrated al set position of thetrap. Describ- .ing the operation of my improved convertible trap nest,let us assume that the hen illustrated in Figure 1, searching for acomfortable sott nest in which to lay an egg mount that board in aneffort toenter the nest portion 15 (see dotted lines on Figure 2). A slthe hen mounts the board 13 she must of necessity engage with theextended end ofthe trap door `11 and lift the same slightly, suihcientIto permit a release and falling of the trigger prop 17 as indicated insaid Figure 2. It will be observed that the point of eontactibetween thehens back and the extended end of the door is well bevond the Shouldersof the hen, making it impossible for the hen, resenting the" weight thusdistributed upon her back, to endeavo-r to turn or back off of the crossboard 18 in a manner which would prevent the trapping action ofthe door;but, on the contrary, the point of contact is such as will force the henforwardly, as is indicated by the arrow on Figure 2, and into the nestcompartment, the trap doo-r falling to the position illustrated` bydotted lines on the said figure whe-re it hangs by gravity in a mannerfor effectively closing off the entrance of any other henswhich maydesire to use the liest, and also preventing escape of the henalreadywithin the nest.

It should be understood that if the poultry man is contemplating usingthe trap nest for trapping a. small breed of hens he may position thetrigger prop 17 at the point F, which maires possible the lowestadjustment of the door vin cooperation. with the cross board 13, asabove c-learly set forth, and he may via-ry the set of this doo-r inaccordance with the size of hens which he is working with by positioningthe said trigger prop, as indicated at the point B, upon the block 1G,or at the opposite. side of the trap nest at the point D, as he maydesire, so that the door 11 may be readily set for perfect cooperationwith the cross board 13 in consideration of the size of the hens thepoultry man contemplates trapping.

ly reason of providing" the very simple construction of convertibiletrap nest illustrated in the drawings itis possible for the general user(as well yas the expe-rt) to use my improved nest since the cost ofproduction of the same will be very small, and it must be clear that thesame is readily convertible to both uses without alteration of parts,setting of complicated levers, or of other complicated mechanism withattendant inconvenience Ito the user of said nest.

It should be also apparent that by the use of the simple construction Ihave disclosed especially considering the simple trigger prop and mannerof positioning and adjusting the same, it will be apparent that I haveprovided a practical 'convertible trap nest comprising no complicatedmechanism whatever which may, by the weakening of a spring, the bendingof a lever, or the clog.- ging of a pivoted parti by straw or sticks, berendered effectively non-operative. It is a common experience with theusual type of trap nest embodying complicated mechanisms'ito have 'smallparticles of trash or other dbris .interfere with and clog the workingmechanism. In my construction the simple trigger prop 17 is not securedpivotally or otherwise to any part of the trap;` this for a doublepurpose, iirst that it maybe readily changed in position and adjustedindicated by the letters A to F, a-nd second, to prevent the same frombeing rendered inoperative by clogging, as before referred to. `Ply thusproviding and positioning the simple trigger prop 17 the same iseffectively operable under any and all conditions. Should it be possiblethat a stick orbits of straw or other dbris be projected through one ofthe slats or be positioned in any part of the trap in a manner forengaging the trigger in the path of its fall in releasing the trap door11 from its set posit-ion, .it would be possible for the said triggerprop to be diverted and to fall laterally as well as forwardlydownwardly, thiat is, the said trigger prop is not held to any fixedpaith of movement buitis permitted to fall as it will, regardless of anyhindering agency which might tend to interfere therewith.

l/Vhile I have illustrated a practical proportion of convertible trapnest, I desire to be understood ythat the proportions of the nest may bereadily varied to accommodate the uses to which it is; to be put, thaijis, the nest may be provided with a larger entrance, may be wider orhigher which may all be accomplished, if desired, so long as therelative cooperation of the trap door 11 and the cross board 13 isproportionately retained. If .it should be 'desired to 4simply make thenest higher or higher in cooperation with other dimension changes, thesame length of trigger' may still be used, if iti be desired, ,i

and the change of dimension be coiiuiiensated for by providing a largerblock 16 or the securing of another similar block thereupon to makeupfor the additional height, or the Itrigger itself may be varied inlength if it be so desired. i

It will be observed that the point to whicl the door 11 extends in theposition illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings is slightly in advanceof that point at which the cross board 13 is positionedthis for thepurpose of providing perfect cooperationv thereof with the said crossboard so that the hen will engage the extended end of the said door in amanner for effecting a proper release thereof, to be later dropped tothe trapping position and in a manner for preventing any attemptedbacking out and effecting a tendency to force the hen on to the nest.During a test of siX months of continual use of this nest, I haveexperienced that no hen has been able to enter the nest without beingcaught and that at no time was it possible for two hens to crowd intothe nest at one time.

The slatted construction of the sides, top and rear wall provide acomfortable cool nest for summer use and also facilitate a readycleaning of the nest when it is desired, it being understood that whenthe nest is used in cold weather a plurality of the same may bepositioned adjacent each other for the purpose of warmth or covered overwith any material which will have-the effect of applying warmth andkeeping out cold winds.

From the 'foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawing itis thought that the novel details of construction, practical arrangementand the advantages of my invention will be readily apparent to'thoseskilled in the art to which it relates.

W'hat I claim is:

l. A trap nest comprising a housing having an entrant end, a divisionboard for dividing the housing into a rear nest space and a front freeinspection space, a normally closed trap door swingable in the entrantend, and means for holding the said door to the open position releasableupon engaging of the hen with the open door, the

said door being positioned so as to restrict passage over the divisionboard into the n est space with the free end thereof terminating at apoint between the entrant end and the said division board when in theopen or set position.

2. A trap nest comprising a housing having an entrant end, a divisionboard positioned for dividing the housing into a rear nest confiningspace and a front space of size permitting free walking about andinspection by the hen, a trap door swingably connected to the top of theentrant end, the said door being of a length for terminating at a pointbetween the entrant end and the division board to restrict the passagethereover when the said door is held open or set, means preventing theoutward movement of the door when closed, and means for holding the doorto its open or set position and automatically releasable upon contact ofthe hen with the door in board.

8. A convertible trap nest comprising a housing having an entrant end, adivision board positioned for dividing the housing into a rear nestconfining space and a front spacek of size permitting free walking aboutpassing over the division and inspection by the hen, a trap doorswingably connected to the top of the entrant end, the said door beingof a length 'for terminating at a point between the entrant end and thedivision board to restrict the passage thereover when the said door isheld open or set, means preventing the outward movement of thedoor whenclosed, means for holding the door to its open or set positionandautomatically releasable upon contact of the hen with the door inpassing over the division board, the said holding` means beingadjustable for holding the door at varied set positions and forwedge-securing it to the locked-opened position when desired.

ALBERT NEWTON PETERS

